Labyrinth
by DiamondAndPearlStories
Summary: The crew end up on a planet consisting entirely of hedges that form a maze, and with monsters hiding behind every corner, it is a feat in itself to escape and find your friends, or you'll risk being trapped forever.
1. chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Dizziness**.

Captain James T Kirk strolled down corridor after corridor, making his way from the Bridge to Engineering, all to pay an educational and professional visit to the Chief Engineer, Scotty. Or that was what Jim told First Commander Spock, who in response, nodded his acknowledgement of the Captains intentions, before taking his place on the Captain's chair.

Jim's true intentions were to break out a new bottle of Scotch with the Scottish Engineer, in celebration of the Enterprise setting off after the Altamid... mission? You could call it more of a chain of confusing and very irritating events. This wasn't Jim's first rodeo, dealing with deranged enemies who wanted revenge on Starfleet, or the Enterprise herself, something Scotty ranted about many a time.

"The Enterprise is a lady who deserves nae less that the greatest amount of respect, Captain." Scotty would repeat.

Jim smirked before entering the engine room, inhabited only by Scotty, who obviously kicked out the engineers whom he worked alongside, or rather ordered around while complaining that they couldn't accomplish a single task.

"Well look who's finally graced me with his presence." Scotty said, finally popping the lid of the bottle, the moment Jim sat down opposite him.

"Imagine explaining this one to Spock." Jim said, raising his eyebrow.

"Imagine explaining this one to McCoy." Scotty grinned as he poured into two medium sized glasses.

"He'd hypo me into next week." Jim said, a smile tugging at his lips at the thought of Bones' reaction to his shirking off his duties for alcohol.

"Best not let him know, eh Laddie?" Scotty replied.

"You're the boss, Scotty." Jim said, raising his glass.

"No, you're the boss." Scotty retorted, tapping his own glass against Jim's with a resounding ting.

"To the Enterprise." Jim said.

"The our fair lady." Scotty said, before they both downed their glasses.

Suddenly, Jim's communicator sent Spock's voice bouncing off the machinery in echoes, to which Jim groaned and pulled it out of his pocket, snapping it open to reply.

"Kirk here." Jim replied.

"Captain, we seem to have picked up a strange anomaly, which is interfering with our transmissions." Spock replied.

"Engines are working fine, at least." Scotty said, loud enough for Spock to hear him.

"Be right there, Mr Spock. Kirk out." Jim replied before ending the call.

"Guess I'll come see what all the fuss is." Scotty said, getting up at the same time as Jim.

"Probably a lightning storm in space." Jim said. They barely got to the exit before both were overcome by a sea of dizziness, sending both tumbling to the ground. Jim could see Scotty pass out just seconds before all he saw was darkness.

OoOoOoOoOo

"Mr Chekov, did you drive us into a lightning storm in space?" Chekov grumbled to himself as he wandered through the corridors. "I vill haff you know, Mr Spock, I am ze best Nawigator zis Enterprise has ewer seen."

Amused looks were sent his way, for many of the crew thought he was going through his phase, still. it would not matter how old he grew on this ship- he was still always going to be the baby prodigy.

"Mr Chekov zinks you undereztimate my ability to awoid any and all lightning storms." Chekov continued to grumble. He finally met his destination, his quartres, where he finished his shift, along with Sulu. The latter heading off in his own direction, towards Medbay.

Chekov headed straight to his wardrobe, where he pulled off his current golden uniform, and pulled on a fresh one- his old uniform had the unfortunate experience of having a new ensign spill coffee on his sleeve. As a member of the Alpha team on the Bridge, presentation was a must have. That meant wearing a second uniform in one day.

"I am not a foolish kid, Mr Spock. As much as you might zink so." Chekov grumbled as he looked in a body length mirror, trying to tame his unruly curly hair. He suddenly inhaled sharply, and forced himself to use the wall as an anchor of support as a wave of dizziness took over, sending him tumbling to the ground, unconscious.

OoOoOoOoOo

"I'm telling you, Doctor, Spock's totally going to send Chekov to an early grave. He might have validated Chekov's theory when we were chasing Nero, but after all that, it's like Spock is wary of Chekov's capabilities, all for his age!" Sulu ranted, to the bored but listening ears of Doctor McCoy. After splitting up from Chekov, Sulu headed to McCoy for a check up on an illness he contracted a week prior. The two were alone, unfortunately for McCoy.

Since then, Sulu hadn't stopped rambling about the anomaly in their plotted course, set by Chekov and followed through by Sulu.

"Lightning storm, huh? That the kind of thing Chekov would lead us into?" McCoy asked, bored.

"No! Of course not!" Sulu replied, on the defensive.

"And now the kid's in a bad mood. Geez, what must that be like for him?" McCoy asked, having always seen the bright side of Chekov.

"Don't ask me that question, he starts grumbling and he is bound to do something inconvenient for the rest of us." Sulu groaned.

"You're not displaying any signs of infection... heart beat is normal... I think you're good to go." McCoy announced.

"Thanks, Doctor." Sulu said, lifting himself off the biobed. The ground began to shake around them, and they found themselves gripping onto each other to stop each other falling over. Such a notion didn't go to plan when a bout of dizziness washed over them, and they tumbled to the ground, unconscious.

OoOoOoOoOo


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2** **: Ensign Trouble**

"No response from the Captain." Uhura told Spock, turning to face him while he sat on the Captain's chair.

"Nothing, Lieutenant?" Spock asked.

"I've scanned the entire ship twice, no readings of Kirk, Scotty, Sulu, Chekov, or McCoy." Uhura said.

"Spock to Captain Kirk,"

The line remained silent.

"Lieutenant, you have the conn." Spock said, before entering the turbolift.

As he stood alone, he pondered Uhura's findings. No one disappeared off the ship without so much of a trace of a transporter, in or out of the ship. Did this occurrence have links to the tremor the Enterprise felt moments prior? They had picked up some kind of anomaly, likely caused by a lightning storm that Chekov had apparently led them into- then again, it was unlikely that a lightning storm had anything to do with the disappearance of several crew members of utmost importance, whatever might have taken them off the surface of the ship, didn't choose the bridge crew randomly.

The doors of the turbolift opened, and Spock headed down the hallway that led him to the shortest route to Engineering- that was where the Captain had gone.

"Commander- uh, Captain, I mean-" Stuttered one of the red shirted engineers as he snapped into a straight stick of a crew member. New on the ship, having been assigned merely a week ago, of course Spock unnerved him. He was tall, and of an athletic build, his hair was ebony, and swept back to prevent stray hair falling into his eyes. his grey eyes might have completed with Jim's bright blue, had they been the same colour as the missing Captain's.

"At ease, where is Captain Kirk?" Spock asked, ignoring the mans unease.

"Mr Scott dismissed all the engineers from the engine room, he and the Captain were here alone." The man said.

"What is your name, Ensign?" Spock asked, placing his hands behind his back, intertwining his fingers together.

"Ensign Kemp, Arthur Luis." the Ensign replied.

"Ensign Kemp, are you aware of the reasons why Captain Kirk paid a visit?" Spock asked.

"No sir, strictly to meet Mr Scott." Ensign Kemp replied.

"As you were." Spock said, before passing the engineer to examine the room. He knew where Scotty liked to take breaks from constantly cursing at the engineers for doing something wrong or not 'treating the Enterprise like the lady she is'. It was a small lounge he put together beneath all the machinery, and that was where he expected Jim to have met with him. While the Captain did claim to be paying Scotty an educational visit, 'strictly business', to use his exact words, Spock did not put it past him to be lying about such matters in order to share an alcoholic beverage with the Scottsman whilst technically on duty.

Of course, Spock's assumptions were correct. He mentally sighed as he walked up to the vacant table and set of chairs, to pick a bottle of Scotch, courtesy of Scotty- how on earth did he sneak this into a working environment? The engineering room, no less. So Scotty and Jim have been drinking fairly recently, but if they were still on the ship, why had scanners not picked them up, and the crew had not seen them either, bearing in mind that the entire crew knew the Captain, and the rather boisterous Scotty who Jim picked up on Delta Vega.

"Captain Spock!" Called Ensign Kemp from the metal flooring above. He was leaning over the railing in order to see the Vulcan standing below him.

"Yes, Ensign?" Spock asked, once he had scaled the stairs to meet with him, avoiding a shattered glass in the process.

"I performed a scan on the engineering department, and there seems to be minute traces of some kind of energy, of which I can't identify." Ensign Kemp explained, showing Spock the findings on the screen.

"Follow me, Ensign." Spock simply replied, which unintentionally made the young man quite jumpy and paranoid.

"Yes, sir." He replied. Spock led him to the Bridge, to which he drew in a sharp breath, before stepping onto the flooring.

"Ensign Kemp, work closely with Lieutenant Uhura in identifying this trace of energy." Spock said, turning to him.

"Yes, sir." Ensign Kemp replied, before saluting and standing behind Uhura's chair as he overlooked her shoulder at the screen, showing the readings he pointed out.

Spock took his place on the Captain's chair. Normally he would melt into the role as temporary Captain with ease, while he knew what Jim was doing elsewhere, but this time he felt a sense of unease wash over his mind; Captain Kirk was missing this time, and Spock had no clue what happened in such a narrow lapse of time. He would step onto the Bridge every day in mentally acceptable form, prepared for all outcomes, should they be faced by Klingons, or Romulans, or any other hostile race.

They were suddenly faced with the unknown, and Spock didn't truly know how to advance without so much as a scrap of evidence or a lead.

The Enterprise was missing her Chief Navigator, Chief Pilot, Chief Medical Officer, Chief Engineer, and most vital of all, her Captain, who didn't believe in these kinds of no-win scenarios.

So Spock began to drift into the thoughts of 'what would James T Kirk do?'.


	3. Chapter 3

Darkness. The only thing Jim Kirk could register. Of course, he was only just drifting into consciousness, letting the dim lighting conditions stream into his eyes, and flinching ever so slightly as the sudden drop in temperature, compared to the comfortable heating of the Enterprise. It took that moment to realize.

He was no longer on his beloved ship.

What happened? He was surrounded by engines, he was in Engineering, and could still taste the alcohol on his tongue now. He drank recently? It tasted like... Scotch. His Chief Engineer's favourite alcohol. The very same person he saw collapse next to him.

Scotty.

Jim jumped up as if he had been electrocuted, and he might as well have been, as a wave of nausea and a bout of dizziness hit his head. He moved too quick after that kind of revelation, but what the hell actually happened?

He looked around, trying to find the Engineer through the incredibly dense white fog, that might have been causing his chill.

"Scotty?" He called into one particular direction. There were only two to choose from, from his viewpoint. He couldn't see further than two feet in front of him, but for all he knew, there was no wall in front of him like the narrow walls on both sides of him. Hedges, made of natural green bushes, cut strangely square.

"Mr Scotty!" Jim called again, a bit louder this time. He narrowed his eyes as he thought he saw a shadow move somewhere in the distance in front of him, but quickly dismissed the assumption when he considered the fact that he couldn't even see anything. Besides, he would have heard the shadow make noise, so he dismissed it as his imagination playing tricks on him.

He looked behind him, even though he expected to see nothing, and then decided he might as well choose one direction to start walking in, so he turned around again, and walked as quietly as his boots allowed on the somewhat uneven, grassy terrain.

It did not take long for him to come to a fork in the road, and by fork, that meant the three directions Jim come across, one straight ahead, one to the left at ninety degrees, or the one to the right, also ninety degrees. He sighed in frustration, and decided to take a closer look at the hedges. Surely if they are just plants, he can charge through like the stubborn and rash man he was. He could probably give McCoy a heart attack with all the scrapes and cuts he might obtain jumping through prickly branches, but if it meant he got to escape whatever this place was, he was all for a collection of minor injuries.

That was proved to be a busted plan. Not only did Jim leap before looking, he also hit some kind of hidden trap, meant to catch out those who had the same ideas as him. As he jumped, he was immediately grabbed by some kind of vine, and had to use all his strength just to escape.

Oh how he wished he had his phaser, or even a knife.

He got out with just a ripped shirt, an almighty tear starting from his left shoulder, ending just short of his right underarm. The chill hit his chest, and he wished he had a jacket.

He continued his escape attempt, choosing to go right (right might be... the right way. It is worth the shot), and hope for the best.

He froze in his step, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck rise, and not because of the cold. He slowly turned around, to face the left route, to see a large silhouette, which was bad considering the fog was so dense. The shadow grew more solid and bigger, and it took too long for Jim to realize he should start running from the beast hunting him.

The next few moments was Jim making split decisions as to which route he should take, every time he came to a split in his path, and he hoped every turn was one step closer to losing the predator. He then spotted a gap at the bottom on one of the hedges, it was decidedly wide enough to fit into sideways, so he dropped to the ground and rolled into the gap, keeping an eye on the outside of the hedge.

Footsteps trudged closer, and Jim knew the monster had lost sight of it's prey; it had began to walk, possibly sniffing out the scent, and stopped right above Jim.

The creatures feet were white, and covered in fur, but despite that, Jim could see three long black claws protruding from it. A minute passed, and the creature eventually moved on, heading back to where it came from.

Jim exhaled sharply after a while longer, suddenly aware of the breath he unknowingly began to hold, and he snuck a glance outside to see just the dense fog once more. He shuffled out, and quickly jumped to his feet, before straightening his ripped shirt, and continuing his search for an escape, or even more comfortingly, Scotty.

OoOoOoOoOo

"When I applied for Starfleet, I intended on being a doctor. When I was assigned to the Enterprise, I intended on being a doctor, and a bloody good one, saving the ass of everyone on that ship." McCoy ranted, coming up to a dead end once again.

"Boy, that's the spirit." Sulu grinned, despite the situation, seeing the opportunity to use a phrase Jim once used when Bones insulted Yorktown, or rather the 'snowglobe that's just waiting to break'.

"Dammit, I'm a doctor, not a navigator! We need Chekov to get out of this place!" McCoy snapped, obviously ignoring Sulu. The both of them woke up in the same dense fog situation as Jim, though as far as they knew, they were alone in the entire maze they discovered. While McCoy would rather have not been dragged into danger all of a sudden, he was thankful that Sulu carried his Katana at the time they collapsed on the ship. About that...

"What happened, Doctor?" Sulu asked.

"Hell if I know, get dizzy and end up here of all places. It couldn't be anywhere else, could it? Not Iowa, or Starfleet Academy, I had to be in a giant maze of all place, one with dense fog I can barely see through, and cold climates." McCoy rambled. "I hate the cold."

"Are we the only ones here?" Sulu asked, sighing.

"As far as I know." McCoy replied, sighing.

"Try this way." Sulu said, pointing towards a route that looked very much like every other route they had passed through more than enough times for Bones' liking.

"Why? It looks just like any other route we took." McCoy hissed. He still followed Sulu, not really seeing much of a choice otherwise, unless...

"Here's an idea, try looking over the hedges."

Sulu stopped, and turned around. He let the idea process for a few seconds, before nodding his agreement, and boarding McCoy's shoulders, with a hand from the Doctor himself. Once he was balancing without McCoy's help, Sulu gripped on the surface branches of the hedge, thanking the stars that the hedges were low enough for him.

"Well?" McCoy asked, voice slightly strained under Sulu's weight.

"Well we were right about it being a maze, it stretches out for miles." Sulu said.

"Wait a minute, how can you see through the fog?" McCoy asked.

"There is none up here, only down there. weird... but helpful for me." Sulu said. "Let's see... we should try to head as far north as we can, the maze looks a bit different as far as I can tell."

"Then would you kindly get off?" McCoy grunted. Sulu took his outstretched hand as an anchor to help him get down, and he jumped of quite eagerly.

"Let's go then." Sulu grinned.

"Geez, why so happy, kid?" McCoy grumbled to himself as he followed Sulu.

The sooner we get out this maze, the better!" Sulu replied.

"In case you haven't noticed, we have no communications with the ship, what difference does it make if we get out or not?" McCoy asked.

"It makes a difference, we won't be trapped by mysterious fog or hedges, as much as I like plants, I do not fancy being surrounded by them much longer." Sulu explained, glaring at the plants, where he can just about see the slithering vines eager to draw him in and trap him for eternity.

"Well when you put it like that." McCoy replied, sarcastically.

Sulu merely smirked, rolled his eyes, and continued to lead the way, his hand on his trusty blade in case it was needed.

OoOoOoOoOo

He shot mere glances into the direction of each fork in the road, but he still could not for the life of him find anything that wasn't a dead end or a nasty looking hedge trying to draw him into it's clutches. The search for the escape was becoming tiring and Chekov was getting even more paranoid and frantic by the second. He suspected the sneaking paranoia was the reason for him constantly hearing things, thuds in the distance, and seeing shadowy silhouettes everywhere he turned.

Pavel Chekov woke all of a sudden, attacked by a terrible chill that not even being Russian helped him get used to it. It was a constant shiver on his body and he was more than welcoming to a mug of hot chocolate when he found the Enterprise again. He had been lying flat on his back, and began to pace nervously when he discovered he could not see that far through the fog- which made navigation a lot harder, but being the Chief Navigator upon the Enterprise, he decided he would prove his worth, despite being the ripe age of twentyone, originally assigned to the best ship in the fleet at the young age of seventeen.

So far, he had guided the crew to Nero without being detected, stepped up to the role of Chief Engineer all of a sudden without much of a qualification, and he had proven his worth to Kirk when they were stranded on Altamid.

"Nyet, zis is vrong." Chekov groaned as he came to a dead end. He turned back to the fork and chose the other route.

Time and time again, while he was responsible for major gamechangers like those listed, he also had a sudden history of failures he just couldn't shake from his mind. While he did find Nero, he also lost Spock's mother and gave the enemy even more satisfaction at compromising Spock emotionally. Then he had failed to keep the Enterprise in top shape, despite Kirk constantly telling him it literally wasn't his fault at all. Then Altamid. What did he do? Just followed Kirk.

"Tell me I am closer now!" Chekov said out loud to anyone who was listening. He looked up at the sky, a murky grey colour, as if it were about to rain heavily. Then it did. His blonde hair very quickly soaked and flattened against his forehead, before he pushed it all back the way he had seen Sulu do it. Then again, his friend always used hair gel, and Chekov's hair quickly bounced back in front of his eyes.

His paranoia kicked in when he heard a snap behind him, as cliche as it is, he thought he heard a twig snap under the pressure of something approaching. He stood his ground, narrowing his eyes as if it gave him better vision through the fog, and soon saw a large silhouette, eyeing him like the prey he suddenly became.

The creature roared to the sky, almost deafening Chekov, and that kicked the kid into action, and he began to run for his life. What luck, for he was a marathon champion back in the academy. This also not-so-much-helped him to get even more lost as he focussed entirely on surviving, and less on the direction he was going.

Maybe he was going back on himself, but if it saved him from the terror behind him, he'd happily re-retrace all his steps once he lost the beast.

Oh how he longed for hot chocolate right now.

OoOoOoOoOo

Finding yourself split from Jim Kirk can either be a blessing or a curse, and right now, Scotty wasn't sure which it was. So try as hard as he might to contact the fair lady that was the Enterprise, his communicator quickly proved to be broken beyond repair, from likely a hard landing and the cursed rain that was falling heavily.

He was certain the Captain collapsed with him-so where was he? Captured by hostile aliens? Lost in the maze like him?

It might have been a blessing to be away from Kirk if he found himself in deep trouble, which was highly likely, being that it _was_ James T Kirk he was thinking about. Then again, maybe he might stand a better chance of survival if he was alongside Captain Perfect Hair, Captain of not believing in no-win scenarios.

All Scotty could hope for now was that he was a competent fighter and prove he was every bit as tough and stubborn as Kirk, though he wished that he had drunk a bit more Scotch if he knew he was going to end up trapped in some kind of mad land, surrounded by live hedges and God knows what beasts are prowling around looking for victims of the place of no escape.

"Jim?" Scotty called out, cupping his hands around his mouth to act as a megaphone. He figured Jim wasn't that far away, but the lack of reply did nothing to fill him with confidence.

Is Jim too far away? Or is he unconscious? or- no, he wasn't going to go anywhere near there. Good old Doctor McCoy would sooner kill Jim than anything else, he was rather lethal with those hypo's he always threatens Jim with.

"Well that's just great!" Scotty muttered sarcastically, letting his arms drop to his sides. This wasn't the first time he was stranded alone in a world he did not know, but he smiled, remembering that he had met Jaylah that way on Altamid, which was probably the highlight of the adventure, that and escaping death.

"Stuck in a fog-ridden hell all alone without so much as a companion."

Of course he had to jinx it. As soon as he said it, he tripped over something in the ground, and landed awkwardly on his left arm, feeling a jolt of pain shoot through him. Nevertheless, he got up straight away, and raised his fists due to paranoia. He looked down at the ground, to see a strange looking creature, albeit somewhat cute.

It was furry, with big eyes bulging from the sides of it's round head, and just below the blue fur, Scotty could make out two fangs that reminded him of vampires, it's mouth connected to a short and round snout. The creature was looking at him with it's big purple eyes, and it reminded him of the numerous times Chekov would try to escape trouble with his famous 'puppy eyes', so Scotty lowered his fists and kneeled down to greet it.

"Hello there, you cannae tell me how to get outta here, can ye?" Scotty asked, with an uncharacteristic soft voice, as if he was speaking to a child.

The creature tilted it's head to the side, much like a confused child, and purred like a kitten.

"Ye kind of cute, I must admit." Scotty continued.

All of a sudden, the creature jumped onto Scotty, who jumped up and attempted to catch it in his hands, after he found out that the little creature was less like a tribble, and more like a dragon, which came out of the ground in it's ambush and revealed itself to be at least ten feet long. The creature wrapped around Scotty's body, coiling around his torso, legs, and arms in attempts to not get caught.

"Get off, ya daft-" Scotty stuttered. Scotty realized too late that he should not have underestimated the thing, and now he was frantic in escaping the clutches of this creature, whose claws were a few times bigger than its fangs, and gripping on tight to his red shirt, tearing into it slightly.


End file.
